


Crossing Wires (The Fanfic Sequel)

by pr0nz69



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes
Genre: Crack, Fluff, Head pats, Humor, M/M, Misunderstandings, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-28
Updated: 2018-07-28
Packaged: 2019-06-17 13:01:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15461946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pr0nz69/pseuds/pr0nz69
Summary: Hawkeye's really taken by that Hoshidan greeting custom.---The only logical conclusion to chapter 31 ofThe Daily Life of Heroes.





	Crossing Wires (The Fanfic Sequel)

**Author's Note:**

> Written by pr0nz69 the younger.  
>    
> [Chapter 31](https://fireemblem.gamepress.gg/manga/chapter-31-crossing-wires)
> 
> As was demanded on Reddit. Uploaded here late because I'm slow and lazy.

It was a risk, Hawkeye realizes in time, to have been the first to reciprocate the Hoshidan tradition of patting the head and face of a comrade post-victory.

He first learned of the tradition from Lady Corrin through demonstration, he himself being the recipient of that assuredly esteemed--and tactilely pleasing--gesture. In spite of her liberal usage of it amongst the summoner's ranks, however, never has he witnessed any of the other soldiers regale their Hoshidan brothers-in-arms with it, a rather tragic state of affairs given the altogether satisfying nature of the gesture. Still, they have witnessed it all the same, so it should not be alien to them and should not warrant such stares whenever, once beginning, he puts it to practice. With a blush of self-awareness, he does eventually come to wonder if, as an outsider, he was perhaps presumptuous in coopting the gesture for his own use. But Lord Ryoma doesn't seem to mind it.

It gets smoother the more he does it. The others don't stare quite so often. Lord Ryoma is not startled the second time it happens and even smiles faintly the third and fourth as Hawkeye gently pats his face and head. He is, at the very least, confident in his technique; he has witnessed Lady Corrin do it countless times, has received the gesture himself enough to know where the optimal spots are, what pressure ought to be applied and when, how long it is to last...

The fifth time, Lord Ryoma returns the gesture with some hesitance. Hawkeye is overjoyed, and smiles to encourage him. To be recognized in such a profound way by a man of Lord Ryoma's caliber is an honor that does not befit one of his station but that he very much treasures.

Soldiers begin to whisper again, but it does little to deter either man. Hawkeye supposes they are jealous of the intimate bond he now shares with the Hoshidan high prince. Such vacuous sentiments do not perturb him.

Nor do they perturb Lord Ryoma ("no-- _just_ Ryoma, if you please"), who gradually comes to intensify the gesture of his own volition. Now the pats become more like caresses, and no longer do they keep to just the head and face. Hawkeye finds that Ryoma's hands travel lower and lower and linger longer and longer on his body each time they meet to conduct the gesture in private. This, he gaily thinks, must be an indicator of deepening trust in Hoshidan culture, and he happily returns the feeling in full.

Caught up in the bliss of such gentlemanly companionship, he does not suspect anything is amiss until the summoner brings forth an unexpected hero to join their ranks.

Lord Takumi is to Ryoma what moon is to sun; though they share the same blood, they could not be more unalike in regards to looks and temperament. Where Ryoma is steadfast and kind, Lord Takumi is brash and tempestuous. Where Ryoma is noble and gracious to all, Lord Takumi looks down his nose at them, keeping company only with his innermost circle unless forced by some mission to do otherwise.

Of course, none of this Hawkeye could have predicted; Ryoma rarely speaks of his siblings when they are alone together. So he feels alongside his companion the excitement of reunion with a dear one. And in his excitement, he desires to greet the cherished brother of his closest ally with the fondest gesture of his culture.

When Lord Takumi steps out of the summoning circle, Hawkeye wastes no time. He approaches him boldly.

"Welcome," he says, patting Lord Takumi warmly on the head and cheek.

The response is neither instantaneous nor, ultimately, receptive, as he had been expecting. First, Lord Takumi freezes up, lips pressing into a tense frown, eyes round and fawn-like and clouded over in fatal disbelief. Then, before Hawkeye can even complete the gesture, Lord Takumi lets out a cry of disgust and jerks away, striking back so quickly with a closed fist that Hawkeye scarcely has the time to maneuver out of the way. It ends with Lord Takumi's shoulders heaving, his unstrung bow in his hands, and his cheeks patched red with anger as he takes up a defensive stance.

"Who are you and just what do you think you're doing?" he demands, his voice echoing through the summoning circle so that all who gathered here to receive him can hear.

Hawkeye, coloring in spite of himself, forces out in his calmest voice, "I thought to greet you in the Hoshidan style, as I have done these past several weeks with your honorable brother. I meant no offense."

Lord Takumi looks scandalized, but the next voice Hawkeye hears is not the one he expected.

"What?"

He turns slightly to see Ryoma nearly as red as his armor, a look of frustrated confusion fresh as new paint across his face. "I-is that what this has all been about?" he stutters out, and Hawkeye, with an uncomfortable feeling growing in his gut, responds, "Have I misunderstood the gesture taught to me by Lady Corrin?"

"Corrin?" cries Lord Takumi.

"C-Corrin," mumbles Ryoma, looking suddenly faint. "That... Yes... Of course... Corrin has the odd habit of patting those she's fond of on the head... That is where you learned this bizarre practice..."

Odd habit? Bizarre practice? Despite his arid homeland, Hawkeye has never felt so hot. "There has been a grave misunderstanding," he weakly says.

"So it would seem." Ryoma lowers his eyes, and the hurt rings clear as a bell in his voice. "I... Forgive me, Hawkeye... I had thought... impossibly... that perhaps you possessed more... passionate feelings for me than those of mere camaraderie..."

The sound of the bell splits and tapers out, and Hawkeye feels the heartache like a shard of glass in his own breast. "Ryoma," he says after a pause, "I... Perhaps you are... you are correct. Perhaps I do harbor feelings stronger than brotherhood for you."

He thinks back then to all of the time they spent together, hands locked in each other's hair, fingers tracing battle scars down the other's breast and abdomen.

And his heart yearns for the warrior before him.

In the next moment, he finds that warrior in his arms and his lips against him, and he gladly lets him in. For several breathless moments, they kiss, and all is right in this strange world they've found themselves united in.

"Forgive me, Takumi," Ryoma says once they pull away, and Hawkeye turns to see the look of abject horror upon the younger brother's countenance. "It appears that the duty of keeping the royal bloodline alive now falls to you."


End file.
